Mass vaccination clinics planned in the Sauk Valley

Three Sauk Valley counties will be receiving an additional 800 vaccine doses to help address an uptick in cases in the region.

Rapid response vaccination teams of National Guardsmen will be returning to Whiteside, Ogle and Carroll counties for mass vaccination clinics, Gov. JB Pritzker said in a news release today.

“With additional supply and support directed to eight counties – some of which are seeing a concerning rise in cases and hospitalizations – it’s my hope that we can give our residents the opportunity to protect themselves and help us all get back to the things we’ve missed during the pandemic,” he said.

Five of those counties fall in Region 1, which includes the Sauk Valley.

Ogle’s clinic will be from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday at the Oregon Fire Department, 123 N. Second St.; Carroll’s will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at West Carroll Middle School, 633 S. East St.; and Whiteside’s will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday at the McCormick Event Center, 205 E. Third St. in Rock Falls.

To schedule an appointment, go to https://bit.ly/3gpmLft for Ogle County, https://bit.ly/3sxOJbF for Carroll County, or https://tinyurl.com/ysbfuj6d for Whiteside County.

“Once activated, the Rapid Response teams move into an assigned county supplied with additional vaccine, during these events Pfizer or Moderna will be utilized,” according to the release. “These teams move at the direction of the local health department to augment the local vaccination strategy to quickly provide access to vaccine to residents in an area experiencing a rise in test positivity.”

Appointments are required; no walk-ins will be taken. The clinics are only for people who live or work in the county in which the clinic is held. The vaccines are free.